The Emerald Quest Read online

  Anthony leaned over Noah, putting his mouth right by Noah’s ear. “They’re taking a second pass,” he murmured. “Stay down.”

  Noah held his breath as the sound of the engine died.

  “They’re probably checking the shoreline with binoculars,” Anthony whispered. “Don’t move.”

  They stayed huddled so long that Noah’s muscles ached. Finally, they heard the boat’s engine rev up and the boat continued down the shore.

  “Let’s go,” Anthony said.

  They hurried back to the cave entrance. Noah had to lie down and belly crawl through the opening. He couldn’t see beyond a few feet. He flicked on his flashlight. The beam bounded off black wet walls. He stood only a foot above the water. The cave was large, with a ceiling about eight feet above his head. Noah stood on a thin ledge that ran around a third of the walls, stopping where there was a small crevice. The crevice ran from the ceiling right down the cave wall, disappearing into the water.

  “Hold on, I’m stuck.”

  Noah turned around. Anthony was halfway through but his hips were stuck in the hole. He pushed with his elbows, freeing himself.

  “That was tight.” Anthony rubbed at a cut on his chest. It wasn’t deep, but blood oozed from it.

  Anthony shone his light around the cave, then on the water. Two sharks zipped around, then darted out of the cave.

  “I’ll bet the chest is over somewhere in that crevice,” Noah said.

  “That’s a good bet. Think you can make it over there?” Anthony asked.

  Noah nodded. He worked along the wall, his bare feet gripping tiny footholds in the wet rocks. At one point the ledge was no wider than a baseball bat. Noah reached out and grabbed a rock jutting out from the cave wall. He placed his toes down on the ledge and leaned forward. His foot slipped and he dangled for a moment, his hands clutching the rock outcropping.

  “Noah!” Anthony yelled. His voice echoed loudly in the cave.

  Noah’s foot kicked the water. A second later, a shark snapped the water where his foot had been.

  Noah regained his balance and pushed himself onward. “I’m okay,” he said. He had to take a deep breath to calm himself. His hands shook. Below, the sharks flitted back and forth, attracted by the movement.

  “Can you get to the crevice?”

  “Yes,” Noah said. The last few feet were easier and then Noah was perched on a small rock shelf.

  “Good job,” Anthony said as he joined Noah.

  Noah shined his light up into the crevice. “I don’t see anything up there.”

  Anthony trained his light up the cleft as well, and peered over Noah’s shoulder. “It narrows up there.” He stepped back and looked down into the water. “Maybe the box is stuck down there.”

  They aimed their flashlights on the water.

  “I can’t see very far,” Noah said.

  “Me, either.”

  “We’ll have to check it out.”

  Anthony nodded. He touched his chest, where the cut still trickled blood. “This will attract the sharks.”

  “Then I go.” Noah swallowed the lump in his throat. They both watched a shark that swam around below them. “We have to keep them away from me.”

  “I’ll go over by the entrance,” Anthony said. “And I’ll try and distract them. See if you can slide down the crevice, that way you’ll stay out of reach.”

  Noah stared down at the water, trying to quell his fear. “Sharks don’t normally harm humans,” he said, more to himself than Anthony. “They attack when they mistake a human for food.”

  “Just go slowly,” Anthony said as he made his way back over the ledge to the cave entrance. “Okay,” he said when he arrived. He hit the water with his hand, jerking his hand back up quickly. A shark darted over near him, its fin slicing through the water.

  “I wish I had my diving gear and spear gun,” Noah said.

  “It wouldn’t have fit through this entrance.” Anthony hit the water again.

  Noah sat down on the rock ledge, letting his feet slide into the water in the crevice. The shark stayed over by Anthony. Noah grabbed a rock with one hand, holding the flashlight with the other. He felt his arm strain as he lowered himself into the water. He took a deep breath right before his head went under the surface. He barely fit into the crack. Noah knew he could hold his breath for more than a minute, but that still was precious little time. He shone the light around. Nothing but rock.

  Noah pushed down into the crevice, but it quickly tapered off. He would have to go into the cave itself. Fighting to calm himself, Noah edged out of the crevice. The shark darted nearby. Noah plastered himself against the wall of the cave and froze. From above, Anthony smacked the water and the shark turned and swam away.

  Noah twisted around and swam down, the light beam illuminating the crevice as it thinned and then disappeared. He didn’t see anything resembling a metal box. He scrutinized the cave floor. No box. He felt movement and swiveled back around. Another shark was in the cave, coming toward him. Noah let himself float upward, hugging the rock wall. The shark swam closer. Noah wanted to scream, but it would do no good. He was out of air and needed to get to the surface. Just then, the other shark rocketed up in front of the first shark. They tangled for a second. Noah’s head burst into the air. He simultaneously sucked in great gasps of air and pushed himself into the crevice. The sharks swam by, too big to get into the crack where Noah was.

  “Come on, get out.” Anthony was hurrying toward him. “I saw that other shark and tried to distract him, but it wasn’t working anymore.”

  Noah tossed his flashlight on the ledge and hauled himself out of the water. He sat for a moment, dripping as he caught his breath.

  “I didn’t see anything,” he huffed. “The crack gets narrower. If Alfonso stuck a chest there, it’s gone.”

  Noah stood up as Anthony joined him. “If it’s somewhere else below, we have to get rid of the sharks before we search.”

  “Where else could it be?” Anthony mused. They scanned the cave, but saw no other hiding place for a chest.

  “Maybe we have the wrong place,” Noah said dejectedly. But what did that mean for his parents?

  Anthony let out a big sigh. “We better get back to the Explorer. We’ll just have to tell your parents’ captors that we need more time.”

  They started back across the ledge. Anthony gripped with his toes much better now, but halfway toward the entrance, he slipped in the same place that Noah did.

  “Whoa!” He thrashed out with one hand, snatching at the rock wall above his head. But instead of giving him a handhold, a huge chunk of rock broke away. “What the…” Anthony let go of the rock. It splashed into the water. The sharks darted over, stirring the water. Noah clutched Anthony’s other hand, pulling him back. Anthony gripped another part of the wall, his knuckles white.

  “That was too close,” he finally managed to say.

  Noah glanced up where the rock had been. “Hey, look at that.”

  A gaping hole yawned at them.

  “You don’t…” Noah’s voice trailed away.

  “Uh-huh.” Anthony grinned excitedly. He reached up and felt into the hole. “I can feel something metal.”

  “That’s it!” Noah said.

  Anthony set his flashlight down and searched for footholds. He climbed up the rock wall until his head was even with the hole. “Shine your light up here.”

  Noah complied. “What do you see?”

  “It’s a box! Just like Juan Carlo described. It’s not very big. I think I can get it.” He grunted and groaned, reached in with one hand and dragged out a small metal box.

  “Here, take it.” Anthony lowered the box. “Hurry, my legs and arms are hurting.”

  Noah grabbed the box, almost losing his balance in the process. He put the box between himself and the cave wall, pressing against it.

  “Okay, hand it to me,” Anthony said when he returned to the ledge.

  Noah put a hand underneath the box a
nd eased it over to Anthony.

  “Got it.” They made their way back to the cave entrance, where the ledge was wider.

  “Is it in there?” Noah asked eagerly.

  “There’s a padlock on it.” Anthony pulled at it. “I can’t get it. Let’s take it outside and find a rock, and I’ll try to break the lock off.”

  Anthony crawled out of the entrance. Noah pushed the box out, then crept out himself, blinking in the harsh sunlight.

  “Quick!” Anthony waved at him. “There’s another patrol boat.”

  They ran and hid until the boat passed by.

  “Let’s open this before another one comes by,” Anthony said.

  “Here’s a good rock.” Noah handed a softball-sized rock to Anthony.

  Anthony seized the rock and slammed it against the lock. He hit it again and the lock snapped. Anthony pulled away the broken pieces and gently opened the lid.

  Inside were moldy papers, a stack of old money, and a small leather pouch that was weathered and cracked.

  Anthony stared at Noah with eyes wide. Anthony picked up the pouch. Leather pieces flaked away as he opened it. Inside they saw two round pieces of glass. They had etchings on them, and one had a tiny shaft of metal sticking from its center.

  “We found it,” Noah breathed slowly, relieved.

  Anthony nodded in satisfaction. He took out one of the glass pieces, holding it by its edges. Lines ran across its surfaces, and they could see tiny lettering. “Fascinating,” he murmured.

  Reality set in as they heard a boat again.

  “A boat shouldn’t be patrolling again so soon,” Anthony said. He hurriedly put the glass piece back in the leather pouch. He placed the pouch in a pocket of his swim trunks. “They must be getting suspicious. We’ll leave the box here. I don’t want to carry it back through the water and ruin anything else in it. If Juan Carlo wants it, he can come back for it later.”

  “Let’s go,” Noah said. “We have to get back before the kidnappers call again.”

  They both knew Noah was right. They were running out of time.

  They rushed back to the cache where they had hidden their diving gear.

  “Watch for those sharks,” Anthony said as they dressed. He stooped down and splashed water on his chest, washing off the blood.

  “This isn’t good,” he scowled. “A shark can smell blood from miles away.”

  “At least it’s not bleeding anymore,” Noah said.

  Anthony forced a small smile. “Just watch my back.”

  They stepped into the water and swam back to the Explorer.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  THE SCUBACRAFT

  “This is amazing!” Juan Carlo said. “Just think. This has been in my family for almost two hundred years.”

  Noah and Anthony had swum back to the Explorer without incident. Juan Carlo had said that a patrol boat had gone by. He had waved at the boat as he fished, and after watching the Explorer for a few minutes, the boat sped away. Anthony and Noah were now showing Juan Carlo the etched-glass pieces.

  “Where is the spyglass?” Juan Carlo asked. They had brought the spyglass tubing with them, storing it in the safe. Noah fetched it. He took the spyglass out of the box and handed it to Juan Carlo.

  “This must be how it works.” Noah watched in fascination as Juan Carlo carefully twisted the end of spyglass, loosening it. Then he popped the lens out. Juan Carlo switched it with the etched-glass piece with the metal rod in it. He attached the two etched pieces of glass to the rod.

  “Ingenious,” Anthony said in awe. He was piloting the boat as he talked, but he had a hard time keeping his eyes on the water ahead of him.

  “We can shine light through it at home and project the map onto a wall,” Noah said. “But how will we know how to rotate the glass pieces?”

  “We’ll just have to play around with it,” Anthony said. “We’ll be at the harbor soon, so you won’t have to wait long.”

  ***

  Back at the house, they fixed lunch and ate quickly.

  “I’ve got a diving light,” Noah said as he chomped on a tuna sandwich. “Let’s turn out the lights in the living room and shut the blinds. We can shine the light through the spyglass and project it onto the wall next to the bookshelves.”

  In a few minutes, they were ready. Anthony turned off the lights.

  “Here we go.” Juan Carlo held the spyglass up while Anthony shined the powerful diving light through one end of it. An image with lines and curves appeared on the wall, like a pencil drawing.

  “Wow,” Noah said. “It works.”

  “But it doesn’t make sense,” Juan Carlo said. He twisted one glass piece for a moment. “Does this image mean anything to you two?”

  Noah and Anthony shook their heads. Juan Carlo fiddled with the spyglass some more, but it didn’t help.

  “Juan Carlo, you said that there’s supposed to be lines on the map that will tell us where to look. ‘X’ marks the spot, remember?” Noah asked.

  “Maybe we don’t have it projected on the wall correctly,” Juan Carlo mused.

  “Let me try,” Anthony said. He turned the pieces slowly. “Hey, there are notches on the edges of the two glass pieces. I didn’t notice that.” He lined up the notches and studied the wall. “I have no idea what that is.”

  “It’s some islands, but it doesn’t look like Key West.” Noah taped pieces of computer paper to the wall. “I’ll trace it.”

  He took a pen and drew lines on the paper. As he worked, he knew he was tracing a map of some of the Florida Keys. But since there were so many islands in the Keys, he couldn’t tell which ones he had drawn. He also traced some Spanish writing on the map.

  “How could someone write that small on the glass pieces?” Noah asked.

  “He must’ve used a magnifying glass to help him,” Anthony suggested.

  “Extraordinary,” Juan Carlo said.

  Noah finished tracing the map and they put the spyglass back in the box. Noah glanced at the clock on the wall. It was almost time for the phone call from his parents’ captors.

  “I still don’t see any lines that would mark a specific place on the map,” Anthony said.

  “We must still be missing a piece that attaches to the etched-glass pieces,” Noah sighed.

  Juan Carlo nodded. “Alfonso must have kept it with the spyglass.”

  “Then it’s still somewhere around the wreck,” Noah said. “But we don’t have time to find it now.”

  “Let’s talk to Chief Burton about what to do,” Juan Carlo said.

  “What else can we figure out before the police get here?” Anthony fingered the writing on the map. “That’s Spanish, isn’t it?”

  “Yes,” Juan Carlo nodded. He stood up and went to the wall. “This means –”

  The chime of the doorbell interrupted him. Noah raced to the door.

  Chief Burton stood on the porch with Detective Shaw.

  “Come on in,” Noah said. They followed him into the kitchen.

  “Have you heard anything?’ Chief Burton asked. “Anybody following you?”

  “Not that I know of,” Noah answered.

  Juan Carlo introduced himself to Chief Burton. Chief Burton and Detective Shaw sat down at the table.

  “We’re still missing one part of the spyglass,” Noah said.

  Chief Burton grimaced. “Okay,” he said after a moment. “Tell them that. It could buy us more time. By the way, we found the Honda. It was abandoned on a street on Stork Island.”

  “Did you find any clues as to what happened?” Juan Carlo asked.

  Detective Shaw spoke up. “Nothing. No sign of foul play. And no clues either. The car was wiped clean.”

  “What about the kidnappers?” Noah asked. “I still have to talk to them.”

  “Here’s what we’re doing,” Chief Burton said. “We’ve got taps on the phone line. When the kidnappers call, try and keep them on the line as long as you can.”

  “What do I say?” Noah as
ked.

  “Ask for more time. Tell them you haven’t found the spyglass yet. Ask how your parents are. Tell them you want to know if your parents are hurt in any way.”

  “Okay,” Noah said.

  Just then the phone rang. Noah picked it up and hit the speaker button.

  “Hello?”

  “We will do the exchange tonight,” a low voice said. Everyone in the room held their breath.

  “But I don’t have the entire map,” Noah said.

  “You do, and you will bring it to us.”

  “I want to know if my parents are okay,” Noah raised his voice.

  The caller ignored him. “You and Anthony take the Explorer out to the Marquesas Keys at midnight tonight. Anchor a mile off the east coast. Noah, you will swim due east from the boat. Bring the map with you. A boat will pick you up. Once we know that you have brought what we want, we will tell you where to pick up your parents.”

  “But I can’t swim and carry the map as well,” Noah said.

  “Don’t deviate from the instructions in any way. No police. We will be watching. If you want to see your parents again, do as we say.”

  Brrr! The sound of the dial tone filled the kitchen. Noah stared at the phone, his jaw hanging open.

  “He’s smart,” Detective Shaw said. “He knew to keep the conversation short. That’s why he didn’t answer any of your questions.”

  Chief Burton’s cell phone chirped. “Yeah?” He nodded a couple of times. “I’ll be in shortly.” He hung up and turned to them. “No luck on tracing the call. He didn’t stay on long enough.”

  Noah frowned.

  “It’s okay, son,” Chief Burton said. “You did the best you could.” He stood up. “Anthony, how long will it take to go out to the Marquesas Keys in the Explorer?”

  “About half an hour.”

  Detective Shaw rubbed his jaw, thinking. “Here’s what we’ll do. I’m sure they’ll be watching, so we can’t have a patrol boat anywhere around. But we can keep in touch with the Explorer by radio.” He turned to Chief Burton. “We’ll get a stand-in for Noah, someone to take his place. That person will swim out instead of Noah.”

  “I have to go,” Noah said. “Didn’t you hear them? If anything goes wrong, what’ll they do to my parents? I can’t let anything bad happen to them.”